Whenever we speak of “church”, we often have to clarify whether we mean the faith community, the institution that structures the community, or the building where that community gathers. Today’s Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica reminds us that our faith reaches into the clay from which we are made. We celebrate this building—the Pope’s own cathedral, the mother of all churches. Why? Because as humans, we need things (like our church buildings) that speak to our senses, that point us to deeper spiritual values. This is what it means to be a “sacramental” church: we are incarnate beings who need visual, tangible reminders to connect us to the life of the Spirit, to nourish our faith in Jesus.

 

Having returned recently from walking in the footsteps of St. Paul, the words he writes to the Corinthians in today’s second reading are particularly relevant: “Brothers and sisters, you are God’s building.” Christ is our foundation; we are the living stones that make up the Body of Christ; we are the temple in which the Holy Spirit dwells. Yes, concretely, we need a building in which to gather, to pray, to worship, to celebrate the Eucharist, from which we are sent forth to share the Good News of what we have received and who we are with the world. We need to take care of that building, to make sure that it is clean, safe, beautiful and welcoming. But even more importantly, we must honour each person – including ourselves – as a vessel of 
holiness, a dwelling-place of the Spirit, God’s beloved son or daughter: “For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.”

 

The “temple” is the church, the gathered body of Christians, the body of Christ. Each of us is a living stone building up the church on the foundation of Jesus. Today’s feast is the celebration of a magnificent physical structure – and having often visited and prayed at the Basilica of St. John Lateran, I can testify to its beauty and power. But even more so, it is the celebration of our identity and unity: as Christians, we are living stones, united with each other, united with Pope Francis, the successor of Peter, the Rock on whose faith the church was built. So let us celebrate our vocation as living members of the Body of Christ, embracing the mission Christ has entrusted to his church: to build up the kingdom of God.